Atmospheric pressure ionization refers to an analytical technique that can be used to generate and identify ionized material, such as molecules and atoms, at or near atmospheric pressure. After ionization, a detection technique, such as mass spectrometry, can be used for spectral analysis of the ionized material. For instance, mass spectrometers (MS) separate ions in a mass analyzer with respect to mass-to-charge ratio, where ions are detected by a device capable of detecting charged particles. The signal from a detector in the mass spectrometer is then processed into spectra of the relative abundance of ions as a function of the mass-to-charge ratio. The atoms or molecules are identified by correlating the identified masses with known masses or through a characteristic fragmentation pattern. In general, atmospheric pressure ionization techniques allow use of selective chemistry and direct surface analysis for the preparation and detection of a sample. For example, atmospheric pressure ionization and detection techniques can be used for military and security applications, e.g., to detect drugs, explosives, and so forth. Atmospheric pressure ionization and detection techniques can also be used in laboratory analytical applications, and with complementary detection techniques such as mass spectrometry, liquid chromatography, and so forth.